freshbytes

I don’t know about anyone else ’round here, but i’m pumped for the IPL final tomorrow morning. You want to know why I’m pumped? I am cause I saw some great cricket in the matches played in the Home and Away season. Simple as that.

Some might complain about the timings of the matches. Why should you care? Late friday night and Saturday night matches are OK for most ppl, even during work/school periods. And for those who (like me) are on holidays for some reason, they have no excuse for not watching at least ONE match. That match should be the one on tonight/morning. The Final.

Who doesn’t want to see present and former Australian players among past & present players from other countries? Seriously, come on. Who doesn’t want to see Shane Warne bowl again? Who doesn’t want to see Murali & Dhoni? Unfortunatly, there wasn’t much in the way of competition during the Semi-finals. A 9-wicket win for Chennai (Dhoni’s team) and a 100+ run win to Rajasthan (Warne’s team). At least the final should be good at this rate.

Why complain at all, when you get the chance to see young up-and-coming Indian players shine against good opposition. Guys like Tanvir, who got the most wickets for the H&A season, are worth watching especially in the finals. It is these guys that I feel have made the IPL a success.

Only time will tell if the IPL is a success or failure. But at this rate, it will succeed. It beats watching motor racing or soccer. It is fast-paced. It is exciting. It is interesting. And it is the future of cricket as we know it.

Join me, if you will, in watching tonights/this mornings match. Scheduled start of 0:15 (according to the TV guide) on TDT (direct feed of Ten from Melbourne). And like all the other matches I have watched over the past week, i’ll be having a Woodstock during the match.

Weed out.

written by Chris Jacques \\ tags: cricket, IPL, weed

Most, if not all, people ’round here won’t be aware of a special event happening in India which lasts a month and starts tomorrow night.

It’s the IPL (Indian Premier League). You know, the ‘rogue’ 20/20 cricket competition.

For those who don’t know what is is, it is a ‘formal’ take on 20/20. Local, young Indian players are set alongside some players from around the world who were ‘bought’ by one of the clubs for a certain amount of money. For example, Ricky Ponting was bought for a certain amount of money by the Kolkata club. How do the clubs afford it, you ask? Well, each club is ’sponsored’ by a company or corporation. That’s the way it goes.

This is a very unique way to get young Indian players playing against the greatest players in the world, and in some cases, great players against each other. Some teams are better off than others (like Kolkata, they have Ricky Ponting, David Hussey, Sourav Ganguly, Shoaib Akhtar and Ishant Sharma). Believe it or not, Anil Kumble may face off against Ishant Sharma (they’re on different teams).

If anyone read anything into the ‘07/’08 cricket season in Australia, then they would know that Sharma troubled Ponting with his bowling. It is ironic that they are playing in the same team in the IPL.

The first IPL match is on tomorrow night, at 8 p.m. India time. India is UTC+5:30. We are UTC+10. Yes, this means that this match won’t start our time until half-past midnight. Not cool. The fixture is a bit better for some matches, as some are set to start at 5 p.m. Indian time (9:30 p.m. here). The matches themselves are televised on TDT, so those without a Set Top Box are stuffed. If you can get TDT, then I suggest recording the matches, but for some that may not be possible anyway. Therefore, hassle me (with my MythTV PVR setup), and I might be able to record them for you!

1st match – Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders

2008 IPL Wikipedia Link

The Official Fixture

Enjoy, I know I will. I can’t wait to see Sharma in action again!

written by Chris Jacques \\ tags: aussie, cricket, india, IPL, myth_rec